Aidan's 3rd Birthday Party

Little brother Evan is trying to keep his eye on all the preschoolers running around. We had Aidan's party at The Play Place, which is basically a giant toy room.

Aidan's busy opening presents. Some of his daycare pals came as well as children of friends' of mine. He had a great time.

As you can see, his friend Makenzie was helping him blow out his candles. He had an "Incredibles" birthday cake. Apparently, he had brushed up on the candle blowing handbook and told me you have to make a wish first. Then you blow out the candles. Didn't ask what his wish was. Probably more ice cream.

They're all waiting for the festivities to begin. You may ask why one child is dressed as a pink unicorn. I wonder myself.

I Did It!! My 1st 5K

So it wasn't the greatest time in the world but I finished it. It was worse than child birth but it felt just as good when it was over.

Here's my training group and coaches. We met for group runs every Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. for 10 weeks and then we had to train on our own three other days during the week. Most of us had never run a day in our lives, unless was from something. We started at 1/2 mile and worked up to 3 miles. I'm trying to maintain the progress.

Here's me with one of my coaches, Lori, who was trying to encourage me to the finish line. She told me that she knew I was barely holding on but "you can throw up later." Nice words of encouragement, huh?

Aidan and Bekah

Aidan is quite the ladies' man. Here he is with friend Bekah after my 5K race. He grabbed a quick hug before running off to get in the "jumpy thing," aka the space jump.

Latest pics of Evan

As you can tell by the picture, it's been a while since we posted. Here's Evan laughing as usual. He's a very happy baby and chunky too.

He's sitting in the Bumbo, which he usually hates, but he was in a extra good mood this day.


His more serious side...

Happy Easter from Aidan and Evan

My friend Jenny took these pics of the boys in their Easter best. Cute, huh? Aidan has really grown fond of his little brother, and he loves to rub his belly and kiss him...almost like a Buddha statue.

Here he is giving him a little peck on the cheek. They're sitting in a giant picnic basket.

We had to work really hard to get Aidan to be still for a moment to get a full shot of him. As you can see, he has grown, but he's a string bean.

Is this the most precious thing you've ever seen? In my humble opinion, it is. Enjoy your Easter holiday everyone. Thanks Jenny for the great pics!!

Dad and the boys

There's been some adjusting to the new baby in Aidan's world. He is no longer called "your baby" but by his name now. Here's a pic of Aidan during his jealous period when he had to sit next to Daddy while he held Evan. He wasn't exactly thrilled about sharing the limelight at first but his attitude has improved over the weeks.


Mike took this pic of Evan during one of his happier moments. You can't tell from the picture but he has big dimples in his cheeks.

Welcome to the family little Evan!

Get a load of that face! Here's our newest addition, Evan William. He was just minutes old when this photo was taken. This explains the reason why I haven't been able to update my blog. He weight 8lbs. 12 oz and was 20.4 in. long.

Happy Halloween

After a little coaxing, Aidan decided he didn't really mind wearing the Thomas the Train costume he picked for Halloween. He's receiving instruction on how to properly "Trick or Treat."


One of our neighbors picked something out of the basket for Aidan, but he still managed to end up with more.


This person played it smart and left the bucket of canding by the door. I think Aidan's bothered by the dogs behind the gate and wondering whether he'd be attacked for getting a handful of loot.

Halfway through the night, he was getting the hand of ringing the door bell, standing there with his bag and gazing pitifully at the soul who answered the door. Instead of saying "Thank you," he would say "next house."

The Doodlebops Live in Memphis

We took Aidan to Memphis to see The Doodlebops - the greatest rock band in the world. I think it was a bit overwhelming. About 15 minutes into the show, he started with "I'm ready to go-go." I think I'm getting old because it was really loud in there. Overall, it was a great show.

MORE BIRTHDAY FUN!

JUST ANOTHER MANIC SUNDAY

We went to the annual Gluckstadt Festival, which is Mississippi's version of GermanFest. We had brats and sauerkraut and Aidan got to explore a fire truck and take a wagon ride.



Happy Birthday Madeleine!
Aidan went to a birthday party that was in a place filled with nothing but space jumps. A boy's dream! He had a really great time and we'll have more pics from that in the next entry.

FESTIVAL SEASON BEGINS!

Here's Mike and Aidan checking out the next adventure at Wellsfest. It was super humid that day but we all had a great time, especially Aidan. I'm typically in charge of the camera so you won't see me.

READY OR NOT, HERE I GO!
Aidan has discovered the joys of space jumps. Here he is getting ready to slide down one that took him a couple minutes to climb.

GIDDY UP!
This is Aidan's first pony ride. He really is thrilled but he takes his riding very seriously, as you can see by his expression. After finishing the round trip on a riding trail, he declared "Big'un" as his own horse.

HOWDY PARDNAH!
Do I really need to say anything? OK, awwwww! Ain't he cute?

Girls' Night Out

Here we are having one last hurrah at Schimmel's to celebrate Julie and Laura's next career adventure. Absent is Laura, who's taking the pic. We had steak and 'tinis. OK, some had 'tinis. Since Jean andI (seated) are preggers, we couldn't partake in the liquor.

THE GUESTS OF HONOR
Notice that Laura and Julie are wearing their party shirts. Good luck to both of you. I'm feeling a little lump in my throat. Don't cry, Laura!

Jean and Emily are preparing to order their red meat and salads soaked in creamy dressing. Actually, we all ordered the same thing, with minor variations, much to the delight of our waiter who said we were the easiest table he's served.

We even had the same fattening desserts ... a warm brownie with peanut butter ice cream covered in fudge sauce. The calories were worth every bite.

A Day at the Zoo

Going to the Jackson Zoo in the middle of summer sounds insane but that's exactly what we did. Aidan enjoyed looking at the animals, with his favorites being the elephants and giraffes. Actually, I think Mike has him looking at birds in this pic. Warning: I won't stand for any negative comments about that rocking western hat I'm wearing on the carousel in the next pic.

Ain't we cool! Notice how I'm hiding the pregancy belly behind the cheetah. Clever aren't I??


Aidan decided to cool off with an ice cream cone. I think he enjoyed the ice cream, but hated that outfit I made him wear.

Feeling froggy?

OK, OK...I know it's been a while since I last posted something, so bear with me while I play catch up. Aidan and his dad spent some time at the Natural Science Museum in Jackson. If you note the pic of him on the frog, you'll understand the title to this blog entry. Get it? (I crack myself up sometimes.) Anyway, Aidan enjoyed playing in the preschool area and looking at all the fish!